Teaching assistant shot and killed in Purdue University classroom

A male suspect is taken into custody Tuesday after a fatal shooting in a classroom on the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Ind.

A teaching assistant was killed Tuesday and a fellow student was in custody after a shooting on the campus of Purdue University in Indiana, police and campus authorities said.

The shooting in the electrical engineering department building was reported to campus police about noon ET, and a text alert immediately went out urging students and staff to shelter in place, said Liz Evans, a spokeswoman for the college in West Lafayette.

Cody Mark Cousins, 23, of Centerville, Ohio, and Warsaw, Ind., was held in the Tippecanoe County Jail without bond on a single count of murder in the death of Andrew F. Boldt, 21, of West Bend, Wis. Campus Police Chief John Cox said he said he couldn't comment on a possible motive.

Cops stormed the home of Cody Cousins, 23, who is being held in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Purdue University student Andrew Boldt inside a classroom. Cousins gave himself up, and university officials said the shooting was not a random attack.

Campus and city police served a search warrant on a West Lafayette home about 5 p.m. in connection with shooting, authorities said. They wouldn't discuss the search.

Cousins surrendered within minutes outside the building by West Lafayette police, Cox said. Cox said shooter appeared to have singled out his victim, targeting no one else.

"The suspect sought out the victim, then killed the victims and then surrendered," he said.

The electrical engineering building, in the northeast part of the campus, remained locked down, but the rest of the university was reopened Tuesday afternoon, campus police said. The university suspended classes through Wednesday and scheduled a candlelight vigil for 8 p.m. Tuesday.

"I ran back to class, which is the big lecture hall, E-129, started sitting down, saying, 'OK, this is a joke — whatever," Choquette said. "And then a cop came running in yelling: 'Get out! Get out! Get out of the building!'"

Campus officials said counseling would be offered for students and staff.

"It's devastating, obviously, to hear this report on a college campus," Evans told NBC station WTHR of Indianapolis. "As a parent myself, I can only imagine. But at this point, the fact the rest of the campus is open should give people some relief."